Netflix has launched an Android app which lets subscribers stream movies and TV shows to an Android device, manage your queue, and search for new “watch instantly” movies. You can even resume watching videos on your phone where you left off on a computer, or vice versa.
The app is available as a free download from the Android Market. There’s just one catch: not all Android devices are supported.
Right now, you need an HTC Evo 4G, Incredible, G2, or Nexus One running Android 2.2 and up or a Samsung Nexus S running Android 2.3.
The company promises it will add support for additional devices soon, but because not all Android phones feature the same video playback capabilities, Netflix has to test each device individually. Interestingly, in the official blog post announcing the availability of the app, Netflix doesn’t make any mention of Android tablets.
I took the app for a spin on my Nexus one, and video playback looks great over a WiFi connection. Video quality isn’t as consistent when using 3G, and it takes a while for videos to buffer over a 3G connection.
Netflix won’t keep playing in the background if you switch to another app. Instead, when you switch back to Netflix while playing a video, you’ll return to the information page for that movie or TV show. But tap the play button and Netflix should pick up where you left off. Overall, the Netflix app for Android is exactly what you’d expect — especially if you’ve used the company’s mobile apps for other platforms. The user interface looks almost exactly like the [itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/netflix/id363590051?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”netflix” text=”Netflix app for iOS”]. Incidentally, Netflix just added support for subtitles to its iOS app — something that’s not yet available for Android.
The Netflix Android app took up a good 22MB of space on my Nexus One when first installed, but now that I’ve moved the app to my SD card, it takes up less than 1MB of my phone’s primary storage space.
Update: Although it’s not an officially supported device, the folks at Droid Life report that the Netflix app works on a Droid X running Gingerbread.
